“For so many years we have dreamt of this [The House of Geography] as of the Promised Land. I am confident that your will find this ‘Promised Land’ quite deserving of the wonderful work of yours that has enriched not only the Russian geographic thought, but also the history of Russian enlightenment..”
From the speech of Pyotr Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky at the first assembly of the Council of the Geographical Society in the new building on October 7, 1909.
The history of the headquarters of the Russian Geographical Society and the tragic fate of the Russian Geographic Museum are not related, however, they have close ties to each other. Pyotr Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky, a respected scientist and Vice-President of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, put many years of work into getting a new building for the Imperial Russian Geographical Society.
When the first council meeting was held in the walls of the new building he was 82. He was extremely proud of this achievement. He said that having built the “Temple” he could finally die in peace knowing that his dear society finally obtained an abode.
Pyotr Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky’s son, Veniamin Petrovich Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky, dedicated most of his life to the Complex Geographical Museum, the decay of which he was doomed to witness in the end of his life.
Very few still remember Veniamin Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky’s brainchild – the once famous Central Geographical Museum in prewar Leningrad. Back then, all school pupils of the city visited this museum. After visiting the museum, the third richest museum after the State Hermitage, people used to say: “Now I know what geography is about!”
Unfortunately, the Central Geographical Museum is gone for good. Veniamin Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky resigned from his position of the director and the museum’s collection was disseminated among various institutions. Some of its exhibits are currently located in the Museum of History of the Geographical Society in Saint-Petersburg, located in the building which was built due to the efforts of his father.
“I voluntarily and quietly stepped back from my extremely dear brainchild – the Geographical Museum, to which I dedicated almost eighteen years of selfless, honest, pure and unsullied personal work. What were these efforts for? I was like a parent, who raised their children with tender care, and had to repudiate them in the end.”
Veniamin P. Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky
The building built for the Russian Geographical Society has not changed its host since 1908. The Russian House of Geography has not closed its doors for a day, even during the years of the Siege of Leningrad. It was due to selfless work of the cartographers of the Society that it was possible to build the “Route of Life”, which helped Leningrad to survive in those rough years.
The Headquarters of the Russian Geographical Society has not been restored in a many years. It fell into decay and grew mold, which became a threat to the archives’ unique manuscripts and other materials. The exhibits that were preserved during the siege of Leningrad were almost lost during the time of peace. In 2004, the heating system broke, yet the exhibits were miraculously saved.
In April 2010, the Headquarters finally began renovations. The Russian House of Geography will not only be preserved, but it will also be modernized in accordance with the technology utilized in similar establishments around the world.
